Text of A resolution to express the sense of the Senate on international parental child abduction.

This simple resolution was agreed to on December 4, 2012. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution. The text of the bill below is as of Sep 19, 2012 (Reported by Senate Committee).

Reported by Mr. Kerry,
with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble

Strike out all after the resolving clause and
insert the part printed in italic

Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in
italic

RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Senate on
international parental child abduction.

Whereas international parental
child abduction is a tragic and common occurrence;

Whereas the abduction of a child
by one parent is a heartbreaking loss for the left-behind parent and deprives
the child of a relationship with 2 loving parents;

Whereas, according to the Report
on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction of the United States Department of State from April 2010,
research shows that abducted children are at risk of significant short- and
long-term problems, including anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood
swings, sleep disturbances, [and] aggressive behavior;

Whereas, according to that report,
left-behind parents may also experience substantial psychological and emotional
issues, including feelings of betrayal, sadness over the loss of their
children or the end of their marriage, anger toward the other parent, anxiety,
sleeplessness, and severe depression, as well as financial strain while
fighting for the return of a child;

Whereas, since 1988, the United
States, which has a treaty relationship under the Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 1980
(TIAS 11670) (referred to in this preamble as the Hague Abduction
Convention) with 69 other countries, has agreed with its treaty
partners to follow the terms of the Hague Abduction Convention;

Whereas the Hague Abduction
Convention provides a legal framework for securing the prompt return of
wrongfully removed or retained children to the countries of their habitual
residence where competent courts can make decisions on issues of custody and
the best interests of the children;

Whereas, according to the United
States Department of State, the number of new cases of international child
abduction from the United States increased from 579 in 2006 to 941 in
2011;

Whereas, in 2011, those 941 cases
involved 1,367 children who were reported abducted from the United States by a
parent and taken to a foreign country;

Whereas, in 2011, more than 660
children who were abducted from the United States and taken to a foreign
country were returned to the United States;

Whereas 7 of the top 10 countries
to which children from the United States were most frequently abducted in 2011
are parties to the Hague Abduction Convention, including Mexico, Canada, the
United Kingdom, Germany, Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia;

Whereas Japan, India, and Egypt
are not parties to the Hague Abduction Convention and were also among the top
10 countries to which children in the United States were most frequently
abducted in 2011;

Whereas, in many countries, such
as Japan and India, international parental child abduction is not considered a
crime, and custody rulings made by courts in the United States are not
typically recognized by courts in those countries; and

Whereas Japan is the only member
of the Group of 7 major industrialized countries that has not ratified the
Hague Abduction Convention: Now, therefore, be it

Whereas
international parental child abduction is a tragic and common
occurrence;

Whereas
the abduction of a child by one parent is a heartbreaking loss for the
left-behind parent and deprives the child of a relationship with 2 loving
parents;

Whereas,
according to the Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction of the United States Department of
State from April 2010, research shows that abducted children are at risk of
significant short- and long-term problems, including anxiety, eating
problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, [and] aggressive
behavior;

Whereas,
according to that report, left-behind parents may also experience substantial
psychological and emotional issues, including feelings of betrayal,
sadness over the loss of their children or the end of their marriage, anger
toward the other parent, anxiety, sleeplessness, and severe depression,
as well as financial strain while fighting for the return of a child;

Whereas,
since 1988, the United States, which has a treaty relationship under the
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at The
Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred to in this preamble as the
Hague Abduction Convention) with 69 other countries, has agreed
with its treaty partners to follow the terms of the Hague Abduction
Convention;

Whereas
the Hague Abduction Convention provides a legal framework for securing the
prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to the countries of
their habitual residence where competent courts can make decisions on issues of
custody and the best interests of the children;

Whereas,
according to the United States Department of State, the number of new cases of
international child abduction from the United States increased from 579 in 2006
to 941 in 2011;

Whereas,
in 2011, those 941 cases involved 1,367 children who were reported abducted
from the United States by a parent and taken to a foreign country;

Whereas,
in 2011, more than 660 children who were abducted from the United States and
taken to a foreign country were returned to the United States;

Whereas 7
of the top 10 countries to which children from the United States were most
frequently abducted in 2011 are parties to the Hague Abduction Convention,
including Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ecuador, Brazil, and
Colombia;

Whereas
Japan, India, and Egypt are not parties to the Hague Abduction Convention and
were also among the top 10 countries to which children in the United States
were most frequently abducted in 2011;

Whereas,
in many countries, such as Japan and India, international parental child
abduction is not considered a crime, and custody rulings made by courts in the
United States are not typically recognized by courts in those countries;
and

Whereas
Japan is the only member of the Group of 7 major industrialized countries that
has not yet become a party to the Hague Abduction Convention: Now, therefore,
be it

That—

(1)

the Senate—

(A)

condemns the
unlawful international abduction of all children;

(B)

urges countries
identified by the United States Department of State as noncompliant or
demonstrating patterns of noncompliance with the Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 1980
(TIAS 11670) (referred to in this resolution as the Hague Abduction
Convention) to fulfill their commitment under international law to
expeditiously implement the provisions of the Hague Abduction
Convention;

(C)

calls on all
countries to accede to or ratify the Hague Abduction Convention and to promptly
institute measures to equitably and transparently address cases of
international parental child abduction; and

(D)

calls on all
countries that have not acceded to or ratified the Hague Abduction Convention
to develop a mechanism for the resolution of current and future cases of
international parental child abduction that occur before those countries accede
to or ratify the Hague Abduction Convention in order to facilitate the prompt
return of children abducted to those countries to the children's countries of
habitual residence; and

(2)

it is the sense of
the Senate that the United States should—

(A)

aggressively
pursue the return of each child abducted by a parent from the United States to
another country through all appropriate means, consistent with the Hague
Abduction Convention, and through extradition, when appropriate, and facilitate
access by the left-behind parent if the child is not returned;

(B)

take all
appropriate measures to ensure that a child abducted to a country that is a
party to the Hague Abduction Convention is returned to the country of habitual
residence of the child in compliance with the provisions of the Hague Abduction
Convention;

(C)

continue to use
diplomacy to encourage other countries to accede to or ratify the Hague
Abduction Convention and to take the necessary steps to effectively fulfill
their responsibilities under the Hague Abduction Convention;

(D)

use diplomacy to
encourage countries that have not acceded to or ratified the Hague Abduction
Convention to develop an institutionalized mechanism to transparently and
expeditiously resolve current and future cases of international child abduction
that occur before those countries accede to or ratify the Hague Abduction
Convention; and

(E)

review the
advisory services made available to United States citizens by the United States
Department of State, the United States Department of Justice, and other United
States Government agencies—

(i)

to improve the
prevention of international parental child abduction from the United States;
and

(ii)

to ensure that
effective and timely assistance is provided to United States citizens who are
parents of children abducted from the United States and taken to foreign
countries.

That—

(1)

the Senate—

(A)

condemns the
international abduction of all children;

(B)

urges countries
identified by the United States Department of State as noncompliant or
demonstrating patterns of noncompliance with the Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 1980
(TIAS 11670) (referred to in this resolution as the Hague Abduction
Convention) to fulfill their commitment under international law to
expeditiously implement the provisions of the Hague Abduction
Convention;

(C)

calls on all countries to
become a party to the Hague Abduction Convention and to promptly institute
measures to equitably and transparently address cases of international parental
child abduction; and

(D)

calls on all countries
that have not become a party to the Hague Abduction Convention to develop a
mechanism for the resolution of current and future cases of international
parental child abduction that occur before those countries become a party to
the Hague Abduction Convention in order to facilitate the prompt return of
children abducted to those countries to the children’s countries of habitual
residence; and

(2)

it is the sense of the
Senate that the United States should—

(A)

vigorously pursue the
return of each child abducted by a parent from the United States to another
country through all appropriate means, facilitate access by the left-behind
parent if the child is not returned, and, where appropriate, seek the
extradition of the parent that abducted the child;

(B)

take all appropriate
measures to ensure that a child abducted to a country that is a party to the
Hague Abduction Convention is returned to the country of habitual residence of
the child in compliance with the provisions of the Hague Abduction
Convention;

(C)

continue to use diplomacy
to encourage other countries to become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention and to take the necessary steps to effectively fulfill their
responsibilities under the Hague Abduction Convention;

(D)

use diplomacy to
encourage countries that have not become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention to develop an institutionalized mechanism to transparently and
expeditiously resolve current and future cases of international child abduction
that occur before those countries become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention; and

(E)

review the advisory
services made available to United States citizens by the United States
Department of State, the United States Department of Justice, and other United
States Government agencies—

(i)

to improve the prevention
of international parental child abduction from the United States; and

(ii)

to ensure that effective
and timely assistance is provided to United States citizens who are parents of
children abducted from the United States and taken to foreign countries.